Notes / Commercial Description:
A classic lager of flavor and heritage. This dopplebock is aged for 3 months frozen, then transferred onto Michigan Sour Cherries for 3 more months. We then bottle condition it at the brewery cellar for over a year. This is named after one of my favorite songs from a band that like lager, started out being intense and mellowed over time. Cheers and Ride the Lightning!

User Reviews

Slightly hazy copper-colored pour, with an off-white head that seemed a bit misplaced considering the style/ABV. Nose was pretty grainy, toasty, rum raisin, caramel malts; didn't really get any cherry. The taste was similar, toasted grains, grain alcohol, rum raisin and caramel malts, maybe a slight essence of potpourri spice and cherry, but I probably wouldn't have noticed the latter if I wasn't told me the beer was aged on cherries. Finished dry and a tad chalky. Body was about medium, and almost seemed overcarbonated for the style, but maybe it was just my imagination. Not bad overall, but by far not Voodoo's best.

[A] A swift pour produces a finger plus of foamy light tan head that slowly fizzes out to a creamy collar. The color is a rich shade of auburn. On the darker side of the spectrum with a noticeable murkiness. No lacing.

[S] Aromas of dark fruits like prune, plum and red grape. No cherry though - not at this point - even though there was very little cherry presence in a fresher bottle either. Oxidized notes of wet construction paper come through from the beginning.

[T] The dark fruits mentioned above (again, no cherry). Toasted malts and rich caramel. There's a minimum level of tartness on the finish. Most impressive, however, is that there is almost no detectable alcohol on the palate.

[M] Full bodied and very smooth. Carbonation is low. Alcohol is not noticeable at all. Supple and more enjoyable as the carbonation continues to escape.

[O] There's nothing bad about this beer, there's just nothing that stands out either. My first impressions - even after opening a fresh bottle - were the same. The description on the label sounds amazing...and the beer falls short of expectations.

Brown-ruby red body, ring of tan head, some lace here as well. Smell is full of cherry and fruit, lots of big malts, red liquorice, a bit of cocoa as well, but lots of fruits in the nose. Taste is big and malty, fruity and even some light lingering hop flavours, cherry and dark malty bread, medium sweetness. Light-medium carbonation, medium feel dsolid body. Solid but not really typical of Eisbock, still pretty good, doesn't seem like 14% alc. either.

A different take on an Eisbock, not tasting like the style I have had in the past. A strong ale, with some characteristics of a cherry stout. Dark brown, a big head, big lace. Bready malty. A really good cherry taste, with a long cherry finish, backed by a malt liquor.

Pours a clear honey brown with a foamy orange-brown head that settles to an oily film on top of the beer. No lacing on this one. Smell is of malt, brown sugar, cherries, honey, wood, and alcohol. Taste is much the same with a mild bitterness with each sip. This beer has a good level of carbonation with a crisp and somewhat dry mouthfeel. Overall, this is a good beer that is pretty boozy and the cherries only add a mild aroma and flavor to the beer.

thanks to ThoreauLikeAGirl for this one a while ago. enjoyed from a darkness snifter.

a - brew poured a deep purple with crimson highlights along the edge of the glass when held to the light. there was a finger's worth of creamy head. looks like a quad or belgian strong dark. head hung out for a long time. lacing was stringy and sparse.

Big thanks to FeDUBBELFIST for hooking me up with a bottle of this. I owe you one buddy. The brew pours a clear mahogany with yellow/orange clarity around the edges. A tan cap apppears atop with a pattern of lace sticking to the glass.

The smell is sweet with hints of toffee-like makt quality. Quite toasty from the grain with a dark scent of fruity raisins more so than the listed cherry ingredient. A hint of minerals and sulfur blends into a faint weizen-like yeast ester towards the back.

The initial taste has a hint of citrus hops faintly. It blends into more of an herbal mixture with alcohol and strong toffee malt sweetness. Some not readily identifiable fruity accenting sweetness like raisin more than cherry is evident with some solvent alcohol. Very faint weizen yeasty spice notes come out a bit as the brew warms.

This is a full bodied brew that is modestly carbonated. Interesting and worth a try but doesn't quite live up to my expectations based on the description. If it wasn't for the preconceived notion of this being aged over cherry, it runs fairly close to the normal eisbock offering. The only exception being that this one is a little dirty around the edges with minerals and sulfur.

Bomber into a medium-sized Duvel tulip. Big thanks to Knifestyles for sharing this rare treat.

A: Deep, hazy magenta body with a solid cap of tan foam that settles into a ring. Spotty lace. Attractive, especially for the strength.

S: Rich, bready malt is the primary component, with some light fruitiness (although not necessarily cherry) ahead of significant boze. Powerful, but not terribly complex.

T: Nicer here, with the cherries showing up along with the straight bready malt. The alcohol is fairly restrained (considering), and the sweetness stays in the background. Tasty.

M: Tons of carbonation, surprisingly, filling out the medium body. Strange, but not unpleasant.

O: This one was ok, but quite the disappointment considering the story behind its creation. How could a 14% beer aged on cherries be so, well, bland? This was one of the last bottles I was around for at the tasting, and I was the deciding vote on opening it instead of Baller Stout (which was then opened after my departure). I'm regretting that decision right now.

Shared by ejyoung at the December 2011 Clusterfork and poured into a shaker pint. This brew’s aged three months, iced, transferred onto Michigan sour cherries for another three months, then bottle conditioned for a year.

Dark cola-brown in color, giving up amber at the edges. Dense yet rather short head of light tan.

Almost like a barleywine in the nose. Brown sugar, caramel, sun-aged oranges and hints of sweet cherry syrup.

Same deal in the flavor. It’s fairly malty, with toasted bread, caramel and brown sugar. Sweet at first, but the swallow wipes all the sugar out with a smack of alcohol and bread. Not much showing from the cherries.

Medium-light, somewhat thin body with moderate fizziness and gentle, massaging carbonation. Alcohol fumes linger in the mouth after the swallow.

Meh. If I want a barleywine, I’ll buy one. I just don't get enough from the cherries for this beer to be anything more than slightly above average.

3.5 A: Lightly hazed orange amber color. Small beige head that didn't last too long and left no lacing.

4.5 S: Tons of honey. This smells like a braggot big time. Also picking up the cherries, which add a nice touch. Booze well in check. Toffee with a subtle toastiness.

3.0 T: Really doesn't taste anything like the nose. Not really any honey or cherry. I guess there is something that smells like honey that I don't know about. Lots of toastiness with an almost dusty graininess. Surpringly mediocre.

3.5 M: Medium body. Good moderate carbonation. Could be creamier, but nice here. Smooth with well hidden booze.

Was lucky enough to have my brother buy me two of these from Capone's as a belated birthday gift. Hell of a find! Poured into a Russian River cervoise...

A - Really nice looking beer! Poured a lovely shade of rust red mixed with murky brown color. great shades of ruby and amber peek through when held to the light. Surprised to see such an inviting head on a big ABV beer. Nice eggshell white head forms about 1 fnger thick and recedes to a cap of the same color.

S - Huge aromas of a nice big bock right off the bat. Nice roasted malts, caramel, toasted grains, brown sugar, and toffee. Some hints of sweet fruits come through as does a molasses aroma. Not much cherry coming off the nose.

T - Nice bock/doppelbock flavors all over the palate. Dark fruits, bready, toasted grains, caramal and toffee. Hints of vanilla come through now too. Not getting much of any cherry presence. I struggle to find it really and feel like there might be some light infuences on the backend. Alcohol is present, but balances surprisingly well.

M - Medium bodied beer that wants to border on full bodied. Pretty nice carbonation for such a big beer, but still about medium carbonation.

O - Not too bad! I was a little disappointed that I didn't get much of the advertised cherry. But overall, this was a really nicely made American eisbock. Super limited so I am very glad I got a few bottles of this! Thanks Matt!

Bomber sent from a great trading partner (G311) poured into a snifter.

Pours a dark earthy brown with a pretty looking tan ish head that sticks around with great lacing. Smell is cherry upfront with a slight sweet boozy tone. Taste is lacking a little it has a good sense of dark fruits and cherries but it seems a little dumbed down, I feel like they could have done much more with this. No alcohol presence at all. Mouthfeel is eisbock all the way light bodied and pretty carbonated. Overall pretty good beer I just think they could have put a little more into it.

Received this brew from Gibby and have been excited to try it arrived. I love anything with fruit (especially cherries) and I’m expecting this brew to be pretty damned intense. Drank from my Ithaca Excelsior tulip while watching the Cowboys vs. Patriots.

Appearance- Pours a murky brownish copper with a fairly decent fizzy half finger light sandy head. A pretty decent cap and collar remains most of the beer. Not much lacing but not bad looking considering the booze in this beer.
Smell- Sort of bready with a fair amount of caramel and dark fruits. Sort of has an underlying sweetness to it that I hope isn’t present in the taste. Rum soaked raisins and prunes juice are really the majority of the nose once it warms slightly. I don’t get any tart cherries but there is a sort of dark black cherry like scent. No trace of the 14%.
Taste- Wow, not at ALL what I was expecting. The flavors are very mellow and well rounded. Sort of bready, almost whole wheat like as the maltiness really comes through from the start. The expected caramel notes are there but the beer really isn’t sweet in the least. Not really any of the dark fruit I got in the nose and absolutely no cherry! Very surprising. The finish is earthy and maybe a touch of lingering raison.
Mouthfeel- Pretty thin as you’d probably expect with a surprisingly dry finish and very little alcohol warming. The carbonation is fairly minimal as well which is surprising considering the head.
Drinkability- I was a little worried about this one and drinking it by myself this afternoon. I won’t have any problem, I assure you. The beer is dangerously drinkable for 14% and although not as intensely flavored as I was expecting (or hoped), it’s still very tasty. Thanks much Jeff!

A: Clear, but dark, mahogany pour with hints of red and a nicely sized white heads. Retention is great.

S: Very deep and rich smell. Perhaps raisins, a sweetness from the cherries, dark fruits. Very much like a bock, huge malt notes, but the aging and cherries really end up making a mark on this complex and balanced smell.

T: The taste is not as in your face as I was expecting. The cherries are not a strong part of the beer, and tartness is certainly not anywhere to be found. Deep, sweet, dark fruits, malts, and booze are the main flavors. I was hoping the cherries would lend more taste to this, but they weren't missed entirely as they curb the taste with a nice sweetness on the end. Mix all that in with hints of vanilla, while remaining relatively on the lighter side, and you have one delicious Eisbock.

MF: Light in body and a lower carbonation.

O: As many have said before, really can't tell this beast is 14%. It is dangerously drinkable, and even my non-beer drinking friends who I gave a taste to really enjoyed it. I didn't want to put it down until it was all gone.

Shared with Nick, 22 ounce bottle poured into two tulip glasses. Neither of us are really fans of Eisbocks in general, but the fact this was aged for months on sour cherries should hopefully provide an additional layer of flavor.

A: Mahogany brown with some reddish tints to it in the light, topped with a tight bubbly off-white head. Once settled, a bit of a patchy cap was left behind with very minimal lacing on the glass. It wasn't too bad and for a beer of this size, I wasn't too disappointed.

S: Rich, roasted and caramel malts come through initially giving a well grounded base to the beer. Some alcohol is present, as well as a bit of a medicinal cherry flavor; not necessarily artificial in nature but it doesn't smell like fresh cherries. No sour qualities which I thought I would get, nor hop notes as expected.

T: Whoa - wonderfully balanced and flavorful. It's not overwhelming in it's flavor profile but there certainly is a focus on the sweet malts in the beer. The cherry flavor is here too, especially with notes of flesh and a bit of a tartness on the back end. Finishes quite nice, just some residual sweetness and maybe the smallest touch of heat. I'm extremely shocked the alcohol is so well hidden and virtually undetectable for the size.

M: Nice active carbonation but this has a substantial body on it, more towards the fuller end of a medium-bodied beer. It's a very nice feel and doesn't leave any dryness or off flavors in the linger.

It's quite a testament to the craftsmanship of the brewers at Voodoo for creating a beer in the style that, from my experience, generally has a brash alcohol component. I think the cherries helped mellow it out and provided quite a unique cut in the flavor. Really well done and very surprised how good and drinkable this was.

Thanks Ethan - a 22oz bottle of Eisbock was the perfect way to finish an evening, especially when I had to bike home 5 miles in the rain. Served in a Darkness glass.

A - Surprisingly generous white foam settles to a thin cap and a few stray fingers of lace. Slightly hazy orange-brown body. Quite impressive for the style and ABV.

S - Big bock aromas - nuts, lighter fruits, toasted grains, Whopper-esque malts, and molasses. There's alcohol present, but it's understated and reasonable for 14%. Not getting any of the advertised cherries, but this is still quite pleasant.

T - Again, it's the standard bock/doppelbock flavor palate - dark fruits, bread, malt balls, caramel, and so forth. Alcohol is unsurprisingly present but kept at a tolerable level. Where are the cherries!?

M - Surprisingly active carbonation - guessing this is force-carbed? Smooth texture that is chewy and bready. Finish is pretty boozy and drying.

D - For a few ounces this is a really enjoyable eisbock - however the alcohol content and presence becomes fatiguing very quickly. Perhaps if they sold it in 6oz bottles like Kuhnhenn (and charged the same price) I would have enjoyed it more? True to style, and mostly delivers other than the marked absence of obvious cherry flavors. If you like eisbocks I'd recommend taking this one for a ride. Too bad it's named after one of my least favorite Metallica songs...

Pours a deep, murky rustic brown with a small diminishing off-white head. Aroma is sweet and grainy along with toasted caramel malt, dark fruit and a hint of alcohol. Has a caramel, light cherry, Oak, and malt in the flavor and very smooth for 14%. I seem to have enjoyed this more at a Voodoo tasting before it even had a label. Maybe it needed more time? But still very good.

I'm digging the not-so-subtle Metallica reference. He should watch out for the impending lawsuit from Lars!

On a side note, I'm really happy that Voodoo is finally starting to break through and get some acclaim. Black Magick is definitely up there as a heavy-hitter in the bourbon barrel-aged imperial stout style, and he's had lots of other hits as well. This doesn't appear to be as wide-spread a release as his other stuff, but here's hoping it's as good as his other high gravity beers!

A - Pours a pretty unique color, almost a rusted red color with muddy brown spread throughout. Depending on the light it takes on a range from near-black to dark orange. Definitely cloudy despite the dark appearance. I got a surprising 2-fingers of head out of this beer with amazing retention given the alcohol in here. The lacing is interesting, in that it starts thick and sticky, but gradually slides back down to meet the beer, so there isn't much lasting lace.

S - At first the nose is full of the more typical doppelbock aromas in the sweet malts with rich caramel and chewy toffee. As it aerates, the more nuanced smells definitely pick up in the tart cherries, some vanilla, and just the slightest hint of alcohol. Overall pretty bready with the more traditional bock nose.

T - When I read that this was aged on 'sour' Michigan cherries, I wasn't completely sure what to expect. Would it be a beer with mouth-puckering sourness or would it be understated. What I get is something in between this spectrum. It by no means is anywhere near sour, and I'd risk saying it's not even very tart, but you really get the cherries in the finish, especially the cherry pits. I have to say I was kind of hoping the cherry tartness would come through stronger as a way to cut the sweetness from the malts, but the way the beer is currently presented is still enjoyable. The malts are still the showcase from start to finish, with lots and lots of caramel and toffee, while the vanilla makes an encore here. Some slight brown sugar and bread round out the profile. As it warms, the cherry in the finish becomes much more pronounced which is very welcomed. Again, almost no alcohol here. I don't know how Matt does it, but both here and in Black Magick he brewed two very alcoholic beers by volume and both hide their alcohol dangerously well. If I weren't told this were an Eisbock, I'd probably peg it at somewhere around 7 or 8% ABV.

M - Mouthfeel is medium-bodied with nice carbonation. A bit on the thinner side, especially compared to doppelbocks I've had in the past. Honestly, this is my first Eisbock, so I'm not sure if that's common due to the freezing procedure or not so I suppose my ignorance is my downfall here. Exceptionally smooth with a clean finish.

D/O - Drinkability is high. I will be the first to admit that bocks in general are not one of my preferred styles at all. Of the 3 Doppelbocks I've reviewed, 2 of them scored C+ and C. However, this beer definitely piqued my interest with the addition of the cherries so I figured I'd try an Eisbock from a fairly local brewery. I am satisfied with what I got out of this bottle, and enjoyed drinking the whole bomber of it. The alcohol definitely sneaks up on you, though, so bear that in mind! If only Pittsburgh would've gotten more of these bottles..

A: The beer pours a slightly hazed dark brown color with a small off-white head.

S: Smells of sweet toffee and brown sugar with a little bit of toasted bread. There is a mild vanilla note as well as some sweet dark fruits, molasses, and candy/sugar.

T: Sweet caramel and brown sugar dominate the flavor, which is quite rich. There is a decent amount of vanilla. Just a mild cardboard/oxidation note to it. Still some dark fruits, toffee, and a mild toasted malt flavor.

M: The body is maybe on the fuller end of medium with low to medium carbonation.

O: Solid aroma, but the flavor wasn't quite up to snuff. Still, not bad for an American made eisbock.

Overall- This is an excellent eisbock that puts a new school take on a classic style. I would recommend this to anyone that already appreciates a higher gravity, cutting edge beer and looking for something that is bigger and more adventurous then your average eisbock.

Trapped under looks pretty shaded brown when in the duvel tulip. Almost bark brown with red spots toward the light, Whisps of caramel colored foam on the surface, no stick. Smell is of a bunch off apple skins with some plum backdrop and cherry liquid. MAlty is a understatement, caramel, no problem. Quite a tame beast for being so large. This dopplebock, while going through mad cold temps, picked up quite a bit of alcohol, yet I cant taste it. The caramel malt and slight tart cherry(pie) meld off from the alc. A whole lot of caramel dipped apple skin. Pretty simple, yet not. Mouth is at above medium, with not to much heat, all things considering. Carbed up light. semi coating for a minute. I think this is a great stab at the style and maybe a few more batches will bring out the fruit more.